Nintendo's profit nearly doubles in first nine months

Never mind the Wii shortage issues. Nintendo today reported its earnings for the first nine months to December 31 and it was a very rosy picture indeed. According to the report, sales during the period topped $12.3 billion while its profit nearly doubled from a year earlier to $2.43 billion.

These numbers were propelled by booming sales of its Wii console and DS handheld: over 24.5 million Nintendo DS units have been sold across the past nine months, with the Wii selling in excess of 14.29 million during the same time frame. Based on these figures, the company has raised its sales forecast for the full year to March 31 to $15.2 billion, but kept profit forecasts unchanged at $2.5 billion.